The architect who designed the first eco-friendly, mixed-use condominium development in Mindanao spoke as an ‘Italian innovator’ last Thursday, Dec

12, at the 13th edition of the Settimana della lingua italiananel mondo (Italian Language Week), the 13th global celebration of the annual cultural event first held in 2001

ITPI Corp (ItalPinas Euroasian Design and Eco-Development Corporation) Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Romolo Valentino Nati shared his ‘eco-logic’ design principles with other Italian innovators and an audience of mostly young Filipino university students and aficionados of Italian language and culture

Launched with the aim of promoting Italian language and culture, each year’s edition of Italian Language Week is held simultaneously in many countries on December 10-13, revolving around a specific theme or particular aspect in the use of the Italian language

As this year’s theme was ‘Ricerca, Scoperta, Innovazione: L’Italia dei saperi or Research, Discovery, Innovation: Italy and Knowledge’, Architect Nati was chosen to present his company’s innovative approach to architecture, building and property development

Every year, Italian Language Week is organized by the Accademia della Crusca in collaboration with the Office for the Promotion and Cooperation in Cultural Affairs of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

In the Philippines, the Embassy of Italy and the Department of European Languages of the University of the Philippines, Diliman organized the event

Nati pushes sustainable architecture

Nati spoke on “Eco-Friendly Buildings and Renewable Energy” at the one of the Italian Language Week’s events, a whole-day forum held Dec

12 at the Claro M

Recto Hall of the College of Arts and Letters in the UP Diliman campus

The Italian architect is the designer of Primavera Residences and his company, ITPI, developed this

ITPI a property development company formed in 2009 by Nati and his Filipino partner Atty

Jojo Leviste

A young developer, it invests most of its resources into its in-house research and design (R&D) department that looks into sustainable architecture

ITPI is also an affiliate of the renewable energy firm Constellation Energy Corp

(CEC)

Leviste is the President of CEC

A truly green and ‘disaster-proof’ architecture

Primavera Residences is a 10-storey, twin-tower, mixed-use development located in Cagayan de Oro’s plush Pueblo de Oro Business & IT Park

Its first tower, Tower A, just completed in the third quarter of last year, is almost fully sold-out

Tower B is also around 30 percent sold-out, even if its construction is also around 30 percent complete

Tower A of Primavera Residences has an inner courtyard and a cross-ventilation layout designed to enhance natural air flow and light

Shaded facades sift sunlight’s entry through windows, moderating the temperature inside units, slashing air-conditioning costs by up to a third

These features — coupled with its location (110 meters above sea level) — also functioned to make the condominium ‘typhoon resistant,’ helping it survive typhoon Sendong, which hit Cagayan de Oro in 2011

The location saved it from massive flooding at the height of Sendong, while the energy-saving features helped mitigate the impact of strong storm winds on the building

The structures have also been designed to withstand earthquakes of high intensities

Multi-awarded green property developments

Because of the eco-friendly features included in the design of its two towers, Primavera Residences has quickly gained the attention of both renowned real estate institutions as well as institutions involved in sustainable property development

Primavera Residences has won two awards:

(1) The Most Promising Clean Energy Investment Opportunities from the Climate Technology Initiative-Private Financing Advisory Networks (CTI-PFAN) in 2010, given at the Asia Forum for Clean Energy Financing held in Makati

CTI-PFAN is the Private Financing Advisory Network (PFAN) initiated by the Climate Technology Initiative (CTI) in cooperation with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Expert Group on Technology Transfer

PFAN operates to bridge the gap between investments and clean energy businesses

(2) One of the Best Condo Developments in the Philippines from the 2011 South East Asia Property Awards at a ceremony held at Singapore

See the world through Italian language

At the forum, Italian Ambassador to the Philippines Massimo Roscigno declared that the Italian language is a good instrument to explore the world

“Italian is a language of music,” Roscigno said, also noting that it was important to devote resources to protect our heritage

“Without heritage, we are nothing,” he said

The ambassador also expressed sympathy over the destruction of churches in Bohol and urged all Filipinos to do what they can to help restore our heritage sites, despite the economic challenges faced by the nation

Dani has written anything from news and features, reviews and opinion pieces to branding and marketing collaterals -- and on anything from extreme sports to cosmetic surgery, human rights to bulk sourcing of hardware. Believing in the inevitable triumph of light over darkness, she is passionate about sustainable development, appropriate technology, human development, minority rights and many other causes. She only does public relations for noteworthy causes and companies.